■ Athletics
Boston boosts the stakes
The men's and women's winners of the Boston Marathon on April 18 will each receive US$100,000 (76,820 euros), an increase of US$20,000. Marathon winners also will be eligible for bonuses if they set American or world records. John Hancock, the chief sponsor, said the total purse this year will be US$575,000. Winners of the wheelchair division will each get US$15,000, up from US$10,000. Defending champions Catherine Ndereba and Timothy Cherigat of Kenya will return for the 2005 race, in which Ndereba will be going for a record fourth title.
■ Cycling
London plans complex
London will have a new cycling complex regardless of whether its bid to host the 2012 Olympics is successful. Olympic bid leader Sebastian Coe confirmed plans Tuesday to build the ?22 million (US$42 million) venue. The development is planned for a 34-hectare site and will have a 1,500-seat indoor velodrome, outdoor speedway track, 1.6km road-racing track and a cross-country mountain bike course. The announcement moves the British Cycling Federation closer to its goal of having four covered, 250-meter velodromes in the UK. There are tracks in Manchester and Newport and plans to build one in Edinburgh. "British cycling has shown itself to be a reliable deliverer of Olympic success," BCF chief executive Peter King said in a statement.
■ Soccer
Heinrichs resigns position
April Heinrichs is resigning as the US women's soccer coach, six months after leading the team to an Olympic gold medal. The US Soccer Federation said Tuesday that Heinrichs will remain as a consultant until the end of this year. No replacement was immediately chosen. Assistant coaches Greg Ryan and Phil Wheddon will direct the team in the interim. "There were a number of goals when I first stepped into this position five years ago," Heinrichs said in a statement released by the federation. "No one is a national team coach forever and for me personally, this is the right time to step away." Heinrichs, whose resignation comes two months after the retirements of veterans Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett, replaced Tony DiCicco after the Americans won the 1999 Women's World Cup. She presided over the Americans' runner-up finish at the 2000 Olympics and third place at the 2003 Women's World Cup in the US.
■ Sailing
Whale rams S African crew
A South African crew training for the America's Cup apparently got the worst of a collision with a whale. One crewman was thrown overboard, the skipper and navigator were injured, and Team Shosholoza's sloop was damaged when it hit the whale on Monday during a training session on Table Bay near Cape Town. Shosholoza RSA 48 was sailing at 10 knots under spinnaker when it hit the whale, bringing the boat to a dead stop. The impact knocked crewman Charles Nankin off the yacht and he was picked up by the team's chase boat. Navigator Marc Lagesse, who was checking the compass reading on the starboard steering wheel, fell forward, breaking the wheel and injuring his collar bone. Skipper Geoff Meek was flung forward, injuring his knee on the crossbar linking the two steering wheels. Olympic sailor Ian Ainslie, who was at the helm, fell forward over the port steering wheel, breaking the wheel off its mount. The yacht is expected to be out of action for at least three days.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite